Pollinating a Stanhopea

[Royal]

I know this is more of a propagation question, but I really want feedback from Stanhopea growers. I'm no stranger to the key flower parts. I have a few of my own crosses flask already, but I mostly grow Cattleya alliance.

My question is about the stigmatic surface on a Stanhopea. I know where it's supposed to be, but it looked unfamiliar. More of a slot, than a sticky depression. In fact, I could not find any surface onto which to "stick" the pollinia. The area on the column just behind the rostellum, where I would have expect to find it, had no features at first glance. When denied a few times, I took a closer look and noticed a crease or slot, but it was not sticky and not large enough for those monster sized pollinia. I finally just poked them down into the slot with a toothpick - I assume this has to be the target.

I don't think I'm way off base, but is there something I'm missing? I did read something here a few years ago about "scratching" the column a day before pollination to mimic the presence of a pollinator. I kind of chalked it up as a theory. Any truth to this? I'm thinking now that something has to make that opening a bit more receptive or I couldn't see it happening naturally.